Baylor
Drake Relays
Track Sweeps 4x200s at Drake Relays
4/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 29, 2011
Drake Relays Central
DES MOINES, Iowa - Baylor's track and field team continued their winning tradition on the first day of the 102nd Drake Relays, sweeping the 4x200-meter relays on Friday evening at Drake Stadium.
With two relay titles on the first day and many chances for more coming on Saturday, Baylor started the weekend aiming for the record of seven Drake Relays titles at one meet. Baylor set the record in 2008, and combined to win four last season.
On the men's side, the 4x200-meter relay team of Woodrow Randall, Marcus Boyd, Zwede Hewitt and Whitney Prevost out-distanced the competition by more than a second. Baylor's time of 1:21.47 ranks fifth all-time and is the second-best performance since 1989. Randall and Boyd made up the stagger on the rest of field, while Hewitt and Prevost then finished it off. The win marked the fifth Drake Relays title in a row in the event, and 12th overall.
In the women's 4x200-meter relay, the crew of Tiffani McReynolds, Diamond Richardson, Brittany Bruce and Tiffany Townsend grabbed an early lead and gradually put space between themselves and the rest of the field. The first three legs gave their 15-time All-American anchor leg a five-meter lead and Townsend pushed it to more than 10 meters by the finish line. The Lady Bears winning time of 1:33.08 was nearly a full second ahead of runner-up Arkansas. The win marks the sixth time Baylor's women have won the event, and first since 2008.
Baylor's women's 4x800-meter relay team has had a strong showing, coming in second in the event. With the second-fastest time ever run at Baylor, the team of Leigh Ann Ganzar, Lizzy Whitney, Mariah Kelly and Brittany OgunMokun was just two seconds behind the winner Kansas State.
In the preliminary rounds of the relays and sprints, Baylor's men and women combined to win their heats in five different events, including three of four relays that stepped on the track. All four relays that ran in the preliminaries qualified for Saturday's finals.
On the men's side, both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays won its heats, including a runaway victory in the latter. With a new lineup in the 4x400, Joe Barb led off the race with a strong carry to put the Bears in first before handing to Hewitt. The junior kept the lead and gave way to Drew Seale, who battled UTEP's third leg around the track. Seale passed to Boyd for the final leg just a meter ahead of the Miners, but Boyd created breathing room before a strong finish for a time of 3:06.80. In running in Saturday's final in the event, the Baylor men will be looking for their seventh consecutive Drake Relays title and 17 in the last 20 years.
The men's 4x100-meter relay didn't go quite as smoothly, but the Bears moved the stick around the track well enough to win the heat. Boyd, Prevost, Randall and Hewitt clocked a time of 40.43 to earn the third-best qualifying spot.
On the women's side, the 4x100 wasn't close from the beginning as McReynolds and Townsend gave Baylor a big lead, before passing to Bruce and Brittany Carr to push the lead even further. The crew finished with a time of 45.13, the third-best of the preliminary round. The women's 4x400-meter relay also qualified for the finals with the seventh-best time of 3:39.72 by Brittany OgunMokun, Bruce, Alyssa Nichols and Richardson.
Individually, Townsend and McReynolds each accomplished their missions running into a strong wind in the prelims of their races. Townsend, the defending Drake Relays champion in the 100 meters, eased to a win in her heat of the event with a time of 11.79. McReynolds, the collegiate leader in the 100-meter hurdles, was pushed to the finish in winning her heat of the hurdles in a time of 13.89.
In the field events, Baylor's top throwers also had a tough time with the wind, but managed top-six finishes. Sophomore Skylar White placed fourth in the women's shot put with a throw of 54-1, while senior Nick Lyons was sixth in the men's javelin at 211-8.
Baylor will be back on blue-colored Drake Stadium track on Saturday with a full slate of relay races to finish off the 102nd Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bears' first event will be the sprint medley relay at 10:15 a.m. and conclude with the 4x400-meter relay at 5:42 p.m. Live results and video can be found at www.DrakeRelays.org.
COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTS
Women's 100 Meters - Prelims
2. Tiffany Townsend (SR) - 11.79Q (Won heat)
Men's 100 Meters - Prelims
12. Woodrow Randall (JR) - 10.95
Women's 5,000 Meters
10. Samantha Patty (SR), 16:59.01
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles
3. Tiffani McReynolds (FR), 13.89Q (Won heat)
Women's 4x100-Meter Relay - Prelims
3. Tiffani McReynolds, Tiffany Townsend, Brittany Bruce, Brittany Carr - 45.13Q (Won heat)
Men's 4x100-Meter Relay - Prelims
3. Marcus Boyd, Whitney Prevost, Woodrow Randall, Zwede Hewitt - 40.43Q (Won heat)
Women's 4x200-Meter Relay - Finals
1. Tiffani McReynolds, Diamond Richardson, Brittany Bruce Tiffany Townsend - 1:33.08
Men's 4x200-Meter Relay - Finals
1. Woodrow Randall, Marcus Boyd, Zwede Hewitt, Whitney Prevost - 1:21.47 (Fifth all-time at BU)
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay - Prelims
7. Brittany OgunMokun, Brittany Bruce, Alyssa Nichols, Diamond Richardson - 3:39.72q
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay - Prelims
1. Joe Barb, Zwede Hewitt, Drew Seale, Marcus Boyd - 3:06.80Q (Won heat)
Women's 4x800-Meter Relay
2. Leigh Ann Ganzar, Lizzy Whitney, Mariah Kelly, Brittany OgunMokun - 8:37.14 (Second all-time at BU)
Women's High Jump
17. Dess Meek (SR), 5-7 (1.70m)
Women's Shot Put
4. Skylar White (SO), 54-1 (16.48m)
Women's Discus
10. Skylar White (SO), 162-2 (49.44m)
Men's Javelin
6. Nick Lyons (SR), 211-8 (64.51m)
Players Mentioned
